I’m buying that. Because I want to.
Absolutely, there’s nothing good or clever about it, even at this early stage Russia seems to have lost far more than they ever stood to gain by a conquest of Ukraine, but I think that makes it clear that the Russians are trapped in a cycle, where the last mistake now informs the next, which makes it that much harder to stop.
The same thing happened with Iraq and Afghanistan. The more you invest in your mistake, the harder it becomes to break that cycle, and do the right or the smart thing.
Alstein
3996
This is why Biden getting out of Afghanistan despite the cost is a decision I will praise him for.
Biden seems to be taking the bitter medicine, even if I’m not sure it’s the smart strategy given the politica climate here (I would have done the opposite- I would have gone full bread and circuses to try and remain popular in short term, but that would be playing with fire)
Putin is doubly hurt due to being a dictator. Dictators tend to die/be imprisoned when they lose power, so he has to double down.
I’d be fine giving Putin an out as long as Ukraine, or at least most of it, is safe to join the EU< and we can reinforce it that Putin remembers the lesson.
From the department of credit where credit is due, Romney is just killing it today.
The backhanded swipe at Biden is pretty irritating, but the rest of it is clear and unambiguous and right.
KevinC
3999
Thanks for linking, that was well said by Romney. I don’t like his politics but we could use more Republicans like him.
Alstein
4000
I’ve had to condemn leftists right now who are either tankie or bothsiding this.
I’m seeing this in Spain too. People in the far right and the far left are bothsiding or flat out eating Russian propaganda.
I might have created a little extended family crisis in one of my replies.
Holy cow.
Putin may have inadvertently advanced the cause of collective security by decades.
Thrag
4003
I enjoy the “what you talking about Willis” look Shoygu gives Putin as he announces putting nuclear forces on alert.
Belarusians are protesting again. Among others, my cousin was arrested. Russians seem to be protesting too.
Sadly, the real danger zone may be coming up now. The invasion has not gone quite as planned (by Putin; I’m sure his generals were a bit more accurate in their assessments but to no avail), but there is no Plan B. Like a gambler who has bet everything and has a losing hand, Putin probably sees no option but to double down and hope he draws into an inside straight.
I am unsure what is the best course for Ukraine, though naturally it’s not my country and I have to defer to their people and leaders on anything that vital to their lives. For the West in general, I think the crucial thing is to balance the consequences of Putin’s increasingly rash behavior with the longer term consequences of giving in to what is blatantly naked aggression. Blocking Putin outright could lead to unforeseen military consequences, and more violence, but giving in and accepting a Russian-occupied Ukraine would in the long term also be disastrous.
ABC Moscow correspondent.
Yes, I think that’s a non-starter.
An oligarch calling for peace (and yes, I know there’s no blue check mark so I at least found a confirming Telegram report)
It’s silly to speculate about, but you have to wonder what the world looks like from Putins point of view.
He has a former President of the United States and much of the Republican unintelligentsia applauding his every move, which would’ve been totally inconceivable at any point in the past, he’s probably being flattered and lied to by his general staff, and his advisers, who tell him that modernizations were taking effect, and that the Russian military had been performing wonderfully in Georgia, Ukraine, Syria etc. which probably wasn’t the whole truth.
He got away with those interventions, and everyone was commenting on how clever he was, and how adept he was at finding our weaknesses. He got away with blowing up an ammunition depot inside the EU, and it seemed that he could assassinate anyone under our protection, including random civilians, and get away with it.
Trump has done more damage to NATO and EU/US relations than the Soviets ever did. He sees someone who appears to be a weak leader in Germany, Merkel is gone, Boris Johnson is a moron, Macron is still fucking around and pretending to know what he’s doing, he’s facing a frail-looking US president, and a divided American public, who are busy fighting amongst each other.
There are a lot of assumptions and misconceptions he could’ve made to think that this was gonna be possible, and that we might allow him his crowning achievement.
Thrag
4010
Reports are that the delegations have met and talks are beginning.
Perhaps time for a little levity?
reference:
Summary
Simo Häyhä - Wikipedia
I’m sure he believed Russia would overrun Ukraine in a couple of days, the Ukrainians would capitulate, it would be a fait accompli and the rest of the world would probably be trying to figure out the path to some more normal new status quo.
